My first memory of Dr. K K Sinha takes me back to my school days nearly 50 years back. At that time, he was posted in Rajendra Medical College, Ranchi (RMCH) – now known as RIMS. My father was also posted there, and we used to live in the same Doctors' Colony of RMCH. At that time, he was to me one of my many friendly neighborhood uncles. At that time, RMCH had a galaxy of great academicians and clinicians on its faculty, and he had just joined that great group. But, very soon, his reputation started spreading like wildfire, and he started becoming famous. I realized this when many of my friends and relatives started asking us to book an appointment with him.

Dr. Krishna Kant Sinha, popularly known as “Dr. K K Sinha,” was born on January 11, 1931, at Maner near Patna in Bihar. His initial schooling was at Maner itself where his father was a teacher. He was bright in studies right from the beginning and passed his matriculation in 1946 in the first division – which was a big thing those days. After that, he joined the prestigious Benaras Hindu University (BHU) for Intermediate Science. At that time, Dr. S Radhakrishnan was the vice chancellor of BHU, and Dr. K K Sinha often narrated many of his anecdotes to his students. After that, he started his medical studies at Darbhanga Medical College (DMCH) and passed MBBS with flying colors in 1953. He got gold medals for topping in medicine and surgery. He had Honors in Medicine, which was a rare distinction those days. He did his MD in medicine also from DMCH and served there for 2 years as a resident medical officer.

His next leap was in 1958 when he decided to go for advanced training and MRCP to England. He had intense preparatory training in Edinburgh General Hospital and Royal Infirmary, which he called “highly educative and stimulating.” He was trained by brilliant teachers like Stanley Davidson of “Davidson's Principle and Practice of Medicine” fame and Donald Hunter, the Editor of the famous book of Robert Hutchison's “Clinical Methods.” He sharpened his clinical skills with these great teachers of Edinburgh Medical University. He completed his MRCP in 1959 from Edinburgh and worked there as a resident in neurology and neurosurgery in different hospitals of the United Kingdom.

He returned homeward in 1961. Before joining the newly started Ranchi Medical College as a tutor in medicine department, he also worked in Patna Medical College for some time. Incidentally, he was the first teacher to join the newly formed department of medicine of this new medical college. Within 3 years, he became a lecturer in medicine and neurology.

As time passed, his love for neurology became more intense, and he decided to go to the USA where he worked in Veterans Hospital in Hynes, Chicago, of North Western University Medical School. This was a huge hospital with 275 beds for neurology alone. He gained experience by working here with great neurologists and came back to Ranchi after some time. Apart from RMCH, he started his own private practice also. Soon, his popularity went soaring high, and he became one of the first choices of patients for medicine and neurology not only for the undivided state of Bihar and Jharkhand but also for the whole of Eastern India.

The Government of Bihar banned private practice in Bihar in 1976, and within a week, he resigned from service as it was not possible for him to deny services to a huge number of patients in his private practice. Even after resigning from RMCH, he continued teaching and mentoring many postgraduate students in his own private clinic. His students say that he had a very good grasp of all branches of medicine and could teach cardiology, psychiatry, and neurosurgery for hours together. It is very rare and difficult for a busy practitioner like him to keep his academic interest alive. He took part in a lot of academic activities and started an Academic Medical Forum (AMF) for updating the medical skills and knowledge of doctors by mutual interaction on a regular basis. He also started a journal, “Physician India.” His academic skills and inclinations were noted by the Neurological Society of India (NSI), and in 1984, he was given the responsibility of publishing the CME book of “Progress in Clinical Neurosciences” and convening the CME programs. Next year, this publication came out with contributions from various neuroscientists of India and abroad. The impact was so strong that he was given the responsibility of bringing out this annual CME publication from 1985 to 1990.

He was the founder secretary of the Association of Neuroscientists of Eastern India (ANEI) in 1990 and continued till 1997. The first CME of the ANEI was organized at Ranchi in 1991, and he started a CME book “Advances in Clinical Neurosciences” as the founder chief editor. He was again the founder chief editor of an additional supplement book, “Some Aspects of History Neurosciences” from 2000 to 2004 of which four editions were published.

To his credit, he had numerous honors and awards conferred upon him by medical and nonmedical organizations. A popularity survey by Hindustan, a Hindi newspaper, found him to be the most popular person in Jharkhand – better than the chief minister and politicians of that time. This was largely because he was considered an excellent physician with a healing touch and a humane approach – physician with a golden heart.

He was awarded the Fellowship of Royal College of Physicians (FRCP). In 2000, he was unanimously elected the founder chairman of The Association of Physicians of India (API), Jharkhand chapter. He was also awarded the Fellowship of Indian College of Physicians (FICP) and the Fellowship of Indian Academy of Neurology (FIAN). In 2009, he was awarded a Gifted Teacher Award by the API. He was the president of the ANEI from 1999 to 2000. The Indian Epilepsy Association (IEA) and the Indian Epilepsy Society (IES) elected him the president in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

He was a life member of the NSI, the Indian Academy of Neurology (IAN), the API, the IES, the IEA, the Indian Red Cross Society, the AMF, the ANEI, and an associate life member of the American Academy of Neurology. He had published 27 books as the chief editor and had numerous publications to his credit in various national and international journals. His area of special interest included hereditary ataxia in Eastern India, Japanese encephalitis, movement disorders, Parkinson's disease, Wilson's disease, and other hereditary and genetic disorders of the nervous system.

In spite of his busy clinical schedule, he was actively involved in organizing various state- and national-level conferences from time to time including the historic first annual conference of the IAN at Ranchi in 1993.

He was a very active social worker. He never missed his daily routine of walking and reading and did find some time for gardening.

He was unwell for some time and breathed his last on April 26, 2019, at his residence, “Mansarovar” in Bariatu, Ranchi. He has left behind his mourning family of wife, a son, three daughters, grandchildren, a large number of friends, relatives, and his dear patients whom he served nearly till his end. With his brilliance, immense knowledge and experience, and sympathetic noncommercial humane approach toward patients, he has set a very high standard of medical treatment for all others to learn and follow.

A journalist of Kushwant Singh's repute visited him in 1980, and he wrote in his column “Ranchi is known for two things – Main Road and Dr. K K Sinha” and so say all of us. Dr. K K Sinha will always remain alive as long as his patients, students, and friends live. May his soul rest in peace.